Need info on flights
 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to break up a trip from either NY or Los Angeles to Bejing or Shanghai into 7-8 hour stopovers. That 14 hour trip seems like a problem to me. I do have the time to make stopovers.

Trust me, you want to get to your destination as quick as possible. A 7-8 hour stopover is not going to help.

Having said that, I think it is possible to book a flight on JAL or ANA to Tokyo (or Osaka), with an overnight stayover there, before flying to Beijing or Shanghai the next morning. That should mean under 24 hours of stayover at NRT, and shouldn't add to the cost of the flight. But still, even LAX-NRT is about 12 hours, and you need to pay for your hotel in Tokyo.

If you can't even do that 11 hour trip to Tokyo, then your only choice will be to stop in Honolulu, and then Japan, again. That'll mean an even longer travel time, and in my opinion tougher journey.

In my humble opinion, fly JFK-PEK (Beijing) non-stop on Air China (codeshared with UA, about 14 hours), or LAX-PDG (Shanghai) on Air China, or China Eastern (codeshared with AA, 12 hours), and get it over with.

If you live on or near the East coast you might try going via Air France. They fly in and out of both Beijing and Shanghai. There is a 7 to 8 hour layover in Paris involved (going both directions.)

However, I agree with the previous correspondent. Stopovers just lengthen the agony.

The best way to get through those really long haul flights is to sleep as much of the way as you can.

Agree with rkkwan...
looked at connections also...and JFK-PEK[Bejing] 13-1/2hr flt. non-stop. That is good....SFO-SHA[Shanghia] was 12 hrs.

There really isn't any good way to break the trip up in 7-8 hr legs.

I usually stay up late on flight day/night so I can sleep on the flight.

If you are going to take "delay in route" and stay a few days at a particular destination, then breaking it up has it merits.

Thanks,everyone, for the info. Since I do have the time, I would plan to stay at another destination for a day or two. I also find some business class fares on China Air from NYC to Hong Kong which were quite reasonable, so that is another consideration as it would be more comfortable. Has anyone flown on them?

I would say that the biggest factor in the comfort of your flight isn't how long the flight is, but whether you are flying in business class. In Business Class, I expect you will be comfortable even on the very long flight.

That said, I've not flown China Air and I would do some more research before booking with them.

we take a sleeping pill on the trans-pacific leg of the flight...

we sometimes stop in la or seattle for a couple of days or you could stop in hawaii for a day or two

The fare you see from New York to HKG is probably on China Airlines (CI), the airline based in Taipei, Taiwan. It generally has good service, but some people may get turned off by its safety records, which I won't get into here. And from New York to Hong Kong, you're talking about a one-stop flight to Taipei (with refueling in Anchorage), and a change of flight to Hong Kong. So, from New York to Shanghai or Beijing, you're talking about 4 legs on two airlines. [On the return, TPE-JFK is non-stop.]

The JFK-PEK non-stop is operated by Air China (CA), the flagship airline of mainland China, based in Beijing. I heard there's nothing to write about them, but they get you there quick. The only non-stop US-China routes operated by a US airline is UA from Chicago to Beijing, SFO to Shanghai, and SFO-Beijing (starting 6/12).

NW flies to both Beijing and Shanghai via Tokyo. Continental flies Newark-Hong Kong non-stop 4 times a week (increasing to 5). Delta codeshares on a China Southern flight LA-Guangzhou.

Cathay Pacific currently has one-stop JFK-HKG service via Vancouver. There will be a 2nd flight, non-stop, starting July 1.

And then you have the connecting services via Japan (JAL or ANA) or Seoul (Korean Airlines or Asiana).

Have you checked the business class fare on Air China's nonstop and compared it with China Airlines to HKG + the cost of getting from HKG to PEK? It's been years since I've flown business class on CI so I'm not familiar with their current product. But if my only choices were business class with multiple connections/longer travel time vs. economy class nonstop, there's no question I would still take the business class flights. It will seem shorter and you'll arrive far more rested.